Development of yeast strains that produce high levels of CoQ10

Coenzyme Q (CoQ, ubiquinone) is a component of the electron transport system in the mitochondria of eukaryotes and is essential for energy production. CoQ consists of a quinone moiety and an isoprenoid chain. Almost all living cells produce CoQ with different isoprenoid chain lengths. For example, CoQ10, which is a popular food supplement, possesses 10 isoprene units. CoQ10 is commercially produced by microorganisms, and as of yet, genetic engineering approaches to commercially synthesize this molecule have not been reported. Despite the importance of CoQ in living cells, the biosynthetic pathway of CoQ remains to be elucidated.1) There were two major aims in the present study. The first was to unravel the biosynthetic pathway for Coenzyme Q in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The second was to use the knowledge gained to produce CoQ10 in S. pombe. In contrast to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which produces CoQ6, S. pombe naturally produces CoQ10, the same molecule found in humans, so it is beneficial to utilize S. pombe to produce CoQ10. As a first step, the genes for CoQ10 biosynthesis were investigated. The genes responsible for the synthesis of CoQ10 were then overexpressed and CoQ10 production was evaluated. Finally, CoQ10 was measured in protein kinase deletion strains.